The Gurkha's Daughter, by Prajwal Parajuly
The Gurkha's Daughter, By Prajwal Parajuly. It is the time to boost and revitalize your ability, knowledge and experience consisted of some home entertainment for you after long period of time with monotone points. Working in the workplace, visiting examine, gaining from test and even more tasks may be completed and you have to begin brand-new things. If you really feel so tired, why do not you try new thing? A very simple thing? Reading The Gurkha's Daughter, By Prajwal Parajuly is just what we offer to you will certainly understand. And guide with the title The Gurkha's Daughter, By Prajwal Parajuly is the referral now.
The Gurkha's Daughter, by Prajwal Parajuly
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A number one bestseller in India and a shortlisted nomination for the Dylan Thomas Prize, The Gurkha's Daughter is a distinctive debut from a rising star in South Asian literature. This collection of stories captures the textures and sounds of the Nepalese diaspora through eight intimate, nuanced portraits, taking us from the hillside city of Darjeeling, India to a tucked away Nepalese restaurant in New York City.The daily struggles of Parajuly's characters reveal histories of war, colonial occupation, religious division, systemized oppression, and dispossession in the diverse geographical intersection of India, Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, and China. In a cruel remark by a wealthy doctor to her tenant shopkeeper, we hear the persistent injustice of the caste system; in the contentious relationship between a wealthy widow and her sister-in-law, we glimpse the restricted lives and submissive social roles of Nepalese women; and in a daughter's relationship with her father, we find a dissonance between modernity and tradition that has echoed through the generations in unexpected ways.Across different ethnicities, religions, and other social distinctions, the characters in these share a universal yearning, not just for survival but for a better life; one with love, dignity, and community. In The Gurkha's Daughter, Parajuly reveals the small acts of bravery--the sustaining, driving hope--that bind together the human experience.
The Gurkha's Daughter, by Prajwal Parajuly- Amazon Sales Rank: #267129 in Books
- Brand: Parajuly, Prajwal
- Published on: 2015-03-10
- Released on: 2015-03-10
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.25" h x .63" w x 5.50" l, .81 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 208 pages
Review "Eight beautifully written characters in neat stories that riff on displacement, perhaps but with wit and charm.... photo-real tales of modern movement."―Monocle magazine"Equally moving stories, the author takes us effortlessly inside the lives of the families in this remote ancient kingdom and its diaspora."―Christena Appleyard, Daily Mail"The next big thing in South Asian fiction."―Anna McNamee, BBC World Service's The Strand"A master at capturing, with great wit and humor, the day-to-day interactions between his characters."―Manil Suri"[Parajuly] is inventive and fresh, and it's great to be reading fiction from and about a country that holds such an intrigue."―Time Out Bejing"Crisp, inventive and insightful... What gives Parajuly's characters warmth is an energy born of division or dispossession: a desire to be loved, to be better off, or to be elsewhere."―John Garth, The Guardian"[An] accomplished debut... Though its recurring themes--the conflict between tradition and modernity; the squirming of the individual under the community's oppressive gaze--may be familiar, Parajuly's wry humour and deft handling of voice point to a distinctive talent."―David Evans, Financial Times
About the Author Prajwal Parajuly, the son of an Indian father and a Nepalese mother, divides his time between New York and Oxford, England, but disappears to Gangtok, his hometown in the Indian Himalayas, at every opportunity. Parts of The Gurkha's Daughter were written while he was a writer-in-residence at Truman State University, in Kirksville, Missouri.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. When Parvati first heard the news, by way of a phone call from her youngest brother-in-law in Birtamod, she applied some coconut oil to her hair and called for the servant girl to massage her scalp and temples. The two perched themselves on the rickety wooden stairs leading to the house, Parvati with her legs wide apart, as the servant’s fingers adroitly negotiated their way through the thick tangle of hair on Parvati’s head."The demon," Parvati said, smiling to herself. "She’s dead." "She’s dead," the girl echoed. "Do you even know who I am talking about, you foolish girl?" Parvati gently hit the servant’s hand."Yes, your mother." "Not my mother, but my mother-in-law. Your name is Kaali, you dark girl, and your brain is as dark as your face. You understand nothing." "But you call her Aamaa, don’t you?" "Of course, I have to. What else would I call my husband’s mother? My daughter? It’s a good thing you’ve found employment here, Kaali. With the way you think, you’d be thrown out of everywhere else. Not to forget the way you look – black as coal and those grotesque lips. Were my husband alive, he’d have kicked you out already." Parvati turned back to look at the servant’s lip. Kaali’s teeth protruded from under the cleft, and she looked like a mouse ready to nibble on a piece of cheese. Parvati touched the deformity with her fingers. "Does it hurt?" she asked."No, I am used to it." "That’s the reason you still have a home, Kaali – you never complain. You wash plates like a blind woman – just today I had to rewash three plates – and you mop like a baby. You aren’t good at anything and look like that, but I’ll put up with you because of your attitude.’Kaali was now forming slow circles around Parvati’s temples. Parvati’s hair glistened in the Kathmandu sun, which was frail and playing hide-and-seek, and she let out a cry when Kaali, through a rough motion of fingers, selected a strand of grey hair and, pinching it between her thumb and forefinger, extracted a big, fat louse."Look at it," Kaali said, showing Parvati the insect crawling in between the lines of her palm. "That’s adhaarey. It sucks more blood than a jumraa." Kaali threw the louse on the ground and, before it could escape, brought her thumb down to crush it, causing a tiny speck of blood to flick up and catch her cleft."I don’t know where I’ve been getting these from," Parvati remarked. "It must be because I tie my hair right after washing it." "These things thrive in damp hair," Kaali said. "You know everything, don’t you?" "I don’t see another one." "You know what they say – when you see one, you don’t see hundreds." "I don’t see any more of them." "That’s because you can’t do anything efficiently, didn’t I tell you?" Parvati said, adding in a resigned voice, "Maybe it is Aamaa’s spirit." "When will you go to Birtamod?" Kaali asked. "Why? So you can watch TV all day? Think I don’t know what you do when I am gone?" "No, no, I just want to know. When will you go?" "I am mourning right now," Parvati said with a wry smile. "I can’t think straight. I am sure the relatives will come up with some plan for me." "Will I go too?" "Why? You want a plane ride, you greedy girl?" "I didn’t know we’d take a plane." "There probably are no plane tickets available for today or tomorrow. Or the day after. The bokshee makes everything difficult. A woman who so easily made our lives difficult when alive is equally bad dead." "Do you think she can hear us?" "Let her, I don’t care. But you haven’t said anything bad about her, so why do you worry? If her aatmaa is still hovering around here, I’ll be the one it will come to scare in the night. Your face would scare even the ghosts. Are you fourteen yet, Kaali?" "Thirteen." "If you stay with us for four more years, maybe we’ll arrange for some surgery. Will that make you happy?" "And school?" She spotted another louse but didn’t pursue it. "Why go to school?" Parvati looked straight at Kaali. "Look, I am high-school pass, and yet I stay at home doing nothing. You need not go to school. Learn the basics from me. Show some initiative. Bring your notebook and pencil when I am free. But why would you? You’re too busy running around Battisputalli with the neighbourhood children, too busy imagining what a beauty you will turn into after the surgery. Remember, the surgery only takes place after four years, and I shall take into account every misbehaviour of yours before I decide on it." Yes, we will take care of the lip, he had said. And school, too. Now that you talk to me about going to school, it seems you have a brain we can’t waste, we shouldn’t waste. It’s just that all the mind-numbing chores at your mistress’s place have made you rusty.The phone in the hallway put a stop to Kaali’s daydream."Go get it," Parvati ordered. "The relatives must have made some travel arrangements. If anyone asks for me, tell them I am crying." "What if they want to talk to you?" "Tell them I can’t talk." Kaali ran to the phone while Parvati followed to listen in on the extension. "Hello, Bhauju," the voice on the other end said. It was Sarita, Parvati’s dead husband’s sister."No, this is Kaali." The voice at once changed. "Where’s Bhauju?" "She’s crying." "Call her." "I can’t. She’s crying." "I don’t care. Call her to the phone. It’s my mother who’s dead, not hers, and I am not crying." "She says no." "You’re so stupid. Are you the one with the bad lip?" "Yes." "Anyway, tell Bhauju to be ready. My brother-in-law has agreed to loan us his van and driver to go to Birtamod. There’s a seat left for Bhauju. Her share will be two thousand rupees." "What about me?" "What will you do at a funeral? You can stay at home, or if you’re that desperate, you can come sit in the trunk. It’s a long journey, but you might have more space back there than we will in the front. All right, we’ll be there in an hour. Tell her to be ready." "I will, but what if she’s not willing to listen to me?" "And you, please wipe that snot off your face and wear something clean. I want a clean skirt." Kaali didn’t have to tell her mistress about the chat. Parvati hobbled into the hallway, a traumatized look on her face. "How dare she?" she hissed. "You’re clean. We’ve taught you clean habits. Don’t you bathe once and sometimes twice a week? And no one should comment on your bad lip. It’s not your fault you were born that way. Didn’t she say she’d be here in an hour? We need to pack, Kaali. We have some work to do." "Am I going too?" "Of course, you are, you fool. I don’t know who else is going to fill up the van. No space? She’ll probably bring that Australian paying guest she takes everywhere with her – that elephant. You can sit in the trunk. After all, I am paying two thousand rupees. What are the others paying then? Nothing, I’m sure. Always taking advantage of our big-heartedness, all of Sir’s family. Nothing I ever do is enough for them."
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. A new experience. By Tanstaafl I've read books by authors from most of South and East Asia, but not a Nepali author. This collection of stories reads mainly like those from Indian authors, but there is a difference. Perhaps that is because of the subject matter or it really could be geographic.The stories are mainly gritty. The part of the world depicted, Nepal, Bhutan and northern India, is one that Westerners are not frequently exposed to. The historical differences due to heritage and nationalism are not generally known and certainly would be on few school curricula. However, the theme is frequent in many parts of the world as borders and governments change.It is futile to try to tell of the stories without telling the stories themselves. The book description does well enough in providing sufficient teasers to the content. The story lines are well developed and it is all about the people, the people and the people.We are exposed to caste differences, geopolitical differences, social differences and human differences. The characters range from high to low in social status, income, and influence. Each try to find their place in their worlds, or to find a new world to fit into.If you like to see unfamiliar people in unfamiliar settings and how they try to handle people problems in this part of our world, then this unique (in my reading experience) look could be of interest. I found it interesting, even if not quite what I was expecting, though I would have a hard time defining that.The stories were very low key, even though the subjects were real and disturbing. I learned a lot about the area and the people in a way far more enjoyable than through a textbook. Recommended for those who are familiar with this style of writing or the area.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Small, unfussy gems By S. McGee Each of these stories is almost pitch-perfect -- and I'm incredibly picky when it comes to short stories, which so many authors try to write and so few succeed in doing full justice to. In my mind, the way that Prajwal Parajuly captures the everyday experiences of myriad characters -- a Muslim storekeeper in a hilltown in a Nepalese area of India, trying to deal with a wife who insists on wearing the burkha and the daughter of the town's wealthiest citizen who insists on stealing his priciest stock; an illiterate maid with a cleft palate traveling to the funeral of her mistress's mother-in-law and trying to decide whether to succumb to the allure of running away; an odd reversal of fortune between two ethnic Nepalese expatriates in New York City -- is just as deft and eloquent as anything I've read by the likes of Laurie Colwin or Alice Munro.The experiences and the characters flirt with the mundane -- English lessons, annoying and burdensome relations, financial struggles. The themes, however, are bigger: generational struggles; questions like how (and whether) to hang on to traditions (like caste) in the modern world; the ways in which women must always struggle twice as much, especially if they are widows, unmarried or childless and thus without "status". And yet each of these beautiful stories is so delicately written that it is only when you step back and close the book that you find yourself reflecting on the multiple layers of meaning that each contains. And yes, you'll find yourself pondering them for many weeks to come, I suspect.Crisp, smooth writing; vivid observations that placed me right in the midst of what was happening: each story managed to be, in its own way, a little novel, so great is Parajuly's narrative skill. I, for one, can't wait to read more of his work.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. An intriguing window into Nepali life By Liat2768 Prajwal Parajuly has done for Nepalese literature what Jumpa Lahiri did for Indian writing with Interpreter of Maladies. This slim book consists of 8 short stories chronicling a slice of life in the varied experiences of Nepali characters; those still living in Nepal and those who have left and long for it.These stories take us into the lives of shopkeepers, young adults, servants and parents trying to do their best raising the next generation of Nepali men and women. Written in crisp clear writing, each tale is smooth reading. The stories are intriguing although the threads are not always conveniently tied up at the end. Some are poignant, some uplifting but almost all are thought provoking.In "The Cleft" we meet a young Nepali servant girl who dreams of escaping the life she leads and is considering the sweet but misleading promises of employment in India. In "An Impossible Dilemma" Prajuly shows us the racism and class differences alive and well in Kalimpong. Reading "Missed Blessing" gives the reader a view into the inherent dignity and pride within the characters which poverty does not destroy.For me, the most revealing story in this collection was "No Land is her Land" where the author exposes the often forgotten Bhutanese government campaign aimed at forcing people of Nepalese origin to leave Bhutan. Bhutan today is famously known as the happiest place on earth but the violence and ethnic cleansing that led to the expulsion of ethnic Nepalese is something that is a blot on their history.The final story in the collection "The Immigrants" is a gentle and well written story of a romantic relationship forming between two young people of Nepali origin living in Manhattan.For anyone interested in the culture and history of Nepal, this book is not to be missed!
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